It has been known since the mid 1800's of the benefits of recycling rubber. Much work has been done to devise methods of recycling rubber through reclaiming and the use of various chemical additives to revulcanize the recycled rubber. See, for example, the references cited in U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,841. Furthermore, there is produced each year vast quantities of ground cured rubber from operations such as the grinding of used tires and the grinding and buffing of various rubber articles such as transmission belts, conveyor belts and tire carcasses in recapping operations.
With the proliferation of the health and fitness industry, there has been a great increase in products for the health and fitness enthusiasts to be used not only at home, but also at fitness clubs, gymnasiums, resorts, hotels and schools. Most of these products have handlebars and/or pads of some type to either provide a surer grip or to absorb impacts. Of late, the handlebar grips used on this fitness equipment have been made from foamed thermoplastics and thermosets which, unfortunately, act as a sponge to absorb perspiration which can lead to the emanation of the familiar "gymnasium" odor. This is undesirable especially for units used in the home. In addition, the foamed articles present a sanitation problem of not being readily washable to prevent the transference of residual perspiration between individual users.